An American Family History

Joshua Yerkes, Jr. was born on August 11, 1772 in Berkeley County, Virginia which is now Jefferson County, West Virginia. His father was Joshua Yerkes.

In 1798 Joshua, Sr. transferred all of his property to Joshua Yerkes, Jr. 

According to his pension record from the War of 1812, he married Margaret Reed in 1799 in Hagerstown, Virginia. He was 27 when he married. Margaret was born on December 25, 1784 in Jefferson County, Virginia. Her parents were Thomas Reed and Mary Calvert.

Joshua and Margaret's children included:
Nathaniel Yerkes (1808, married Elizabeth Medd),
John H. Yerkes (1810),
Rachel Yerkes Reed (1812, married James Addison Reed),
Joshua Yerkes (1814),
Mary Yerkes Griffith (1817, married James Griffith),
Margaret Yerkes Jolly (1821), and
Samuel Yerkes (1824, married Mary Jane McQuirter).

The family appeared in the 1810 census of Jefferson County, Virginia. The family consisted of two boys under ten, a man between 26 and 44, and a woman between 16 and 25.

Joshua served in the War of 1812 in the 57th Regiment, Virginia Militia as a corporal in Captain Thomas Cockerell's Company of Infantry in a Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Minor. He began service August 26, 1814 and mustered out in December, 1814 in Washington. His home was listed as Jefferson County, Virginia. The distance of the place of discharge from his home was sixty six miles. He received ten dollars a month. In his pension application he said that he

was guarding Ft. McHenry, Relived Picket Guards five nights in Succession kept Cogburn from coming into Ft McHenry & from there we went to Bladensburg and was there two or three months to keep them from coming into Washington City. My discharge was lost when I was getting land.

In 1819 they moved from Virginia to Ohio. They probably took the National Road.

In 1840 Joshua (Yarkes) was living in Springfield Township Hamilton County, Ohio. At the time of the 1850 census, Joshua and Margaret were living in Dearborn, Indiana. Joshua was 70 and Margaret was 66. Joshua and Margaret appeared in the 1860 census of Dearborn. Joshua (jashuay Yerks) was 83 and Margaret was 78.

Margaret died on June 15, 1866 of a heart attack in Bright, Dearborn County, Indiana.

At the time of the 1870 census, Joshua was still living in Harrison Township. He (josuah gergers) was a member of the James and Mary "refett" household. Joshua was 89, James refett was 57 and Mary refett was 53.

Joshua died on February 28, 1872 in Bright, Indiana when he was 99 years old..